Screw the Measuring Tools
I like the way my desk top matches the table in the photo.
(687 words, 3-minute read)
“So, when’s the book coming out?”
The dreaded question.
I completed writing Bat Crap Crazy back in June of 2023. But just because I was done doesn’t mean I was finished. Not by a long shot. Writing is the creative, fun part, bringing it to market…well, that’s work. All the wonderful daydreaming and concocting that goes into the story have been replaced with data, metrics, and other people’s expectations, like having a unique voice (product) but also having evidence that you are in line with others more successful than you (i.e., comparable book titles already published in your genre).
I am well aware that society has been conditioned to expect instant gratification. But Art seldom delivers to that need. A big fear about writing a book is that you announce it was complete, and then it would slip from people’s minds because it wasn’t ready to be published. And after seven months, the novelty of my achievement has slipped in enthusiasm.
I recently rediscovered a business quote that has been gnawing at me like a rabid dog. “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” It’s been attributed to W. Edwards Deming and/or Peter Drucker. (My research couldn’t determine for sure who said it). My argument is ART captures the human condition, the essence of life.
How do you measure that?
For instance, during the pandemic, I took out eight books on Hygge from the library (Americans call it cozy). Like many others, I was looking for some “calm” in uncertain times. After going through the collection, I found only one that captured the spirit of Hygge because the author focused on internal feelings rather than external “stuff” to create the concept.
“The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Contentment, Comfort, and Connection,” by Louisa Thomsen Brits. (My book recommendation for January.) In her book, she covers six basic aspects of the concept of Hygge. Here are just some of the quotes that touched me as I read.
But use this one to prove my point. Brits writes, “Scent can transport us instantly to the comfort of the past; it is our sense of smell that is most strongly linked to our emotions.”
After reading the sentence, I stopped to ponder it. I came up with several smells that indeed brought me back to a place in my past. And days afterward, the quote stuck with me. But I wonder how Deming/Drucker would measure that sentence? By the number of memories it conjured? By the strength of the odor? Or maybe, how long did the daydreaming about the memory last?
Clashing concepts of counting “likes” and “followers” with the idea that a roaring fire on a cold winter’s night is the only thing you need to be content, is jarring and paralyzing. I have let doubt slither into my mindset and asked myself this question often lately: would I still write if I never win an award, have a million adoring fans, or even make a dollar from my writing? Along with a companion question, if I don’t get the measurable “things,” does it prove that my writing isn’t any good?
It is no comfort for me to think these two questions most likely plague anyone bold enough to embrace their creativity as a career. It is the ultimate act of bravery…to sit still in this self-imposed agony. It is painful. Self-doubt is always available to seep in while staring at the fifth, sixth, or 40th “final revision.”
Social media and marketing, in general, isn’t the problem. It isn’t an external problem at all. It’s an internal problem.
All of my questions are answered by this: I wake up every morning wanting to work on my craft, and I try not to think about social media numbers too hard. I love to write, and I have a ton of ideas I want to get down on paper. Screw the measuring tools. The need for raw data and metrics to determine a product’s success doesn’t apply to art or me. Numbers don’t matter, and my drive is unmeasurable and unmanageable, and it’s just the way I like it.
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Don Peppers – “Measuring something doesn’t make it manageable. It just makes it measurable.” Click here to read the whole article. Don Peppers
Harsh Punjabi’s video, Numbers Don’t Matter https://youtu.be/kzkmuTIuX-o?si=Jp1aquNu41hbIdRs
Dr. Who’s episode with Van Gogh https://youtu.be/_jjWtUpqV9w?si=ZRCmILaMZ5uQi_3N
